Litter boxes containing litter material such as "kitty litter" traditionally have been used for collecting animal wastes deposited therein by pets, typically cats, confined indoors in dwellings. In the course of utilizing litter boxes for the intended purpose, a cat, by nature displaces the litter material in a way that scatters material causing some of the material to spill out of the litter box onto the adjacent floor or rug thereby causing a mess. Furthermore, loose particles of litter material often temporarily cling to the paws of the cat, as a consequence of using the litter container, typically litter boxes which particles disengage on the animals initial departure to drop on the floor of the dwelling upon exiting the box, also adding to the mess.
Prior attempts have been made to reduce the spillage from litter containers by installing a hood on the container such that the cats scratching action does not scatter the material out of the box. While generally effective to reduce scattering, hoods do not catch the particles temporarily adhering to the cat's paws and dropped upon exiting the litter box.
Accordingly, it is therefore desired to provide for a litter collection apparatus to be used in combination with a litter container for collecting the litter particles from the animal's paws and to a method of collecting litter material scattered in the area adjacent the litter container employing the new litter collection apparatus.